City Proposes Raising Minimum Age for Cigarette Purchases to 21

[alp227]

Source: New York Times

Young New Yorkers would not be able to buy cigarettes until they were 21, up from the current 18, under a proposal advanced Monday by Dr. Thomas A. Farley, the city’s health commissioner, and Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker.

The proposal, which would give New York City the highest smoking age in the country, is the latest effort in a long campaign to limit smoking that began soon after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office, with bans on smoking in restaurants and bars, and expanding more recently to bans at parks, beaches, plazas and other public places.

The new proposal would make the age for buying cigarettes the same as for buying liquor. It was not immediately clear whether Dr. Farley’s proposal would make it illegal for people under 21 to possess cigarettes, as well as to buy them.

Surveys suggest youth smoking has been declining in New York City, perhaps, some analysts say, because young people have been influenced by the public health campaigns and never taken it up to begin with.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/nyregion/new-york-proposes-raising-minimum-age-for-cigarette-purchases.html

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I don't like Michael Bloomberg especially because of his ban on large sodas.

If I had my way though, I'd require all smokers to do it in their own homes and choke and suffer under their own smoke so that they don't force everyone else to breathe in their filth. This new policy is just for show, I think. If Bloomberg had any real political courage, he'd propose lowering the drinking age to 18!

[Warpy]

1. So they'll just get massive civil disobedience

This is just as silly as the anti Big Gulp campaign. Adults have a right to choose to do stupid things. Any kind of governmental nannyism just pisses them off, and quite rightly so.

As for forcing smokers to do it in their own homes, please realize their homes in NYC are generally apartments, so they'd be smoking out all their neighbors, too.

Personally, I think taxing tobacco out of the allowance range of most teenagers, especially the immortal younger ones, plus a ban on smoking in indoor public places will discourage smoking the best.

[obama2terms]

2. Oh come on

An 18-year-old is an adult that is perfectly capable of making their own choices, if they want to smoke until they have heart attack that's fine, it's their freedom.

[former9thward]

3. If smoking is bad for you then ban it.

Bloomberg won't do that because he is addicted to the taxes he gets from it. He would legalize meth and so he could tax it if he thought he could get away with it.

[dembotoz]

4. so you can join the army and die for your country but you can't buy a pack of smokes?????

this is just bullshit

now I have not smoked in over 30 years but 18 is old enough for booze and cigs

[TheCruces]

9. LOL...NYC already has a huge black market for cigarettes

There's always guys walking around outside bars selling packs for cheap(er) and singles.

[Sgent]

6. As a smoker

I would raise the age to 21 but cut the age to buy alcohol to 18.

There's no evidence that raising the drinking age accomplished anything -- in fact the evidence out there suggests that it had the complete opposite effect.

Raising the smoking age is very effective in preventing new smokers.

[alp227]

7. How will a higher smoking age work if a higher drinking age not? N/t

[Sgent]

8. I don't know

I just know it does work.

Every public health study in every country shows that a higher smoking age results in fewer smoking addicts.

It may not decrease the rate of people experimenting, but it takes regular access to cigarettes to become addicted, and most 18-20 year olds will not buy a carton, meaning they have no regular access.

Remember the harms are different -- for alcohol we are trying to prevent binge drinking, DUI, etc. For smoking, they only thing I care about is reducing those with nicotine addictions.

[SpartanDem]

10. Seriously screw Quinn and screw Bloomberg

anyone who doesn't respect the right of adults to make their own decisions, especially when come to what goes into their own bodies shouldn't be holding public office. If I could vote in NYC Weiner would be getting my vote.

[alp227]

11. Whole different story with smoking.

The state has the right to regulate what comes OUT of our bodies. People have the right not to breathe others' filth.

[SpartanDem]

12. What does that have do with raising the age to 21?

[octothorpe]

13. Then they should ban it outright if that's the case...